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THE TITLE
TITLE OF PLAY TITLE OF PLAY. It is a good idea to write entire scenario and synopsis, then choose an appropriate title. Too many young writers think, when they have completed their play, that "any old title will do. " But how many times, in strolling past a picture-theater, have you been attracted by a poster bearing a clever title; and how many times have you paid your five or ten cents to see "a certain picture" because the title was appealing? If an editor is confronted by a title of no interest, he is prejudiced before he reads one word of the synopsis. The fact that your title will either appeal or lack interest to scenario editor often determines whether he will proceed to read manuscript with due respect or merely review it in a limited manner. This should impress upon you the importance of a strong, clever, appealing title. Imagine my surprise recently when I opened a manuscript and read the title, "The Bride's Feat. " The play was supposed to be a drama, but the title would signify a comedy. Choose an attractive title—not too long. Avoid one that contains eight or ten words; this may be necessary at times, but two, three, four, or five words is far preferable. A title THAT WILL APPEAL TO THE CURIOSITY is very important to the producer in advertising the film, therefore of much value to YOU in getting your work accepted. These producers are in business to make money, and if they can display a poster advertising a play with an attractive, appealing title that will make the nickels flow into their coffers, it is attaining their desires. Make the title suggest something definite—one of suspense, and not one that tells your story before it begins. Do not call your play, "The Derelict's Return;" call it, "The Derelict. " Make the audience await his return; why tell them before you begin that he will eventually return? Do not name your story, "The Deserter's Vindication;" call it, "The Deserter, " or, "The Deserter at Bay, " or, "The Deserter's Child, " or "The Deserter's Mission, " or some other title suitable for your play without telling audience at the very start that your deserter will finally be vindicated; this destroys much of the suspense, and we know what to expect as the story advances. Do not call it, "A Fortune Regained;" name it, "A Fortune at Stake. " Make us wait and see whether or not it will be regained. Do not give playtitle of your principal character unless it be someone well known in history. "Roy Samuels, " "Joe Matthews, " or "Esther Hall, " means nothing to the reader, while George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, or Abraham Lincoln would attract. Avoid the stock expressions for titles such as, "Bread Cast Upon the Waters, " "The Tie that Binds, " "The Lane that had no Turning, " "Where Ignorance is Bliss, " "For His Brother's Sake, " "The Wages of Sin, " "An Eye for an Eye, " "A Little Child shall Lead Them, " etc. These are old, stereotyped phrases that are time-worn by constant usage. Originality in the title plays as important a part as originality in the theme. The following examples are the kind that excites curiosity and makes us want to know "what it is all about ":— The Intercepted Letter. A Woman's Privilege. An Interrupted Honeymoon. When the Clock Struck One. The Midnight Intruder. A Book Agent's Dilemma. A Counterfeit Dollar. The Unsealed Envelope. Another Man's Wife. A Night of Peril. THE TITLE THE TITLE Because of the difference in people's tastes, it is hard to say just why a title pleases or displeases, why it interests or fails to interest. It is probably because of what it does or does not suggest—because of its associations. Some titles are failures in themselves, either in conception or in form; but most poor titles are so because of a deficiency or a falseness of suggestion. —EVELYN MAY ALBRIGHT, The Short-Story. The title of a short-story is its name, and it is with stories as with persons, a unique name suggests an interesting personality ; though sometimes, to carry on the comparison, a good name is its possessor's only merit. Short-story titles seem to reflect the spirit of the times ; not so markedly, however, as is the case with novels, which may deal more intimately with the big movements of the day, but still appreciably enough for us to note variations from year to year. Some of these changes in style are as whimsical as the mutations in woman's headgear. Now the fad runs to a fixed order of words. Once nothing but the name of a character would suit the extremist. A little while ago novels and stories were overwhelmed with titles of color — the red this was succeeded by the yellow that, until, with violet t'other the deluge at length subsided. But all the while a rising appreciation of the value of effective titles has led authors and editors alike to give them more attention. The result is apparent in every magazine. We now see that there are as many points of difference between the title of a novel and that of a short story as exist between these two literary forms themselves. What depth of treatment could you expect in a short-story entitled The Testing of Diana Mallory! 1While the broader work would probe character to the heart, the briefer fiction could deal with only one phase of life; and so the significance of such a. title would be weakened. The selection of a title comes about in much the same manner as the choosing of a theme. 2Indeed, the title may be the first to arise in the mind and from it the whole story develop. The Functions of a Title Miss Albright has well said: " The title has for its main function the advertising of the story to the reading public. Like other advertisements, it may or may not announce the genuine essence of the article. Its first business is to attract the reader's attention by the promise of an interesting story. "' But before a title can advertise its wares to the public, it must: (a) appeal to the editor. There is something positively hypnotic in a fetching title. I have seen an editor, jaded by the reading of many manuscripts, freshen like a spent hound at the sight of water, merely by coming across a promising title. First of all it may touch his personal interest, but in the end he considers that title in relation to other accepted fiction, to his annual subscribers, to newsstand sales, to the standing and traditions of his magazine, as well as with regard to its abstract merits. He knows that the title of a single story may influence thousands of readers, pro or con. So true is this that I have known several editorial councils and considerable correspondence to be devoted solely to discussing the wisdom of changing the title of one story. Authors should give editors the freest possible rein in the matter of such changes —provided, of course, no violence be done to appropriateness. Most magazines — and throughout this work I include the pictorial weeklies in the same category —would would rather reject a good story than accept it weighted down with a really bad title. (b)The appeal to the public is quite different. Here interest is the primary, almost the sole, consideration. " A title that piques curiosity or suggests excitement or emotion . . . has all the advantage of a pretty girl over a plain one ; it is given an instantaneous chance to prove itself worthwhile. " 4Stand some day at a great railway magazine booth and watch the people as they finger the periodicals. They vary greatly. One knows what he wants, but another will leaf and turn until some title leaps out from the page and suggests a story of the kind he likes. If the opening sentences are as attractive bait as the title, the fish is hooked. " I'd like to read that, " and, " That looks good, " have sold many a magazine, because the same influence had been previously at work upon the manuscript reader. 2. Good Titles A good title should be attractive, short, fitting, specific, fresh, sonorous, literary, and suggestive. No further word is needed here as to attractiveness, but young writers do not sufficiently regard brevity. The average length of the titles of two hundred representative short-stories, specially examined, is a little less than four words; divided as follows : eight-word titles, i ; seven, I ; six, 12 ; five, 3o; four, 27; three, 77; two, 39; mid one, 13. Of course, the initial " The " will play an important part in any such count. Again, the number of syllables in each word is to be considered, as two long words like " Quarantine Island, " by Besant, form really as long a title as " Ouida's " " A Leaf in the Storm "— five syllables in each. But be ruled by no such arbitrary fetish as a passion to have just so many words and syllables in a title. Let your title be brief, but let it also be fitting. The story itself will govern this point. Says Barrett, in hisShort Story Writing, "— if you have difficulty in finding an appropriate title for your story, first examine your plot, and make sure that the cause does not lie there . . . you may find that your plot lacks the definiteness of impression required by the short story. " Often the fitting character of the title will appear only as the story progresses, as in " The Window That Monsieur Forgot, " Mary Imlay Taylor ; " The Liar, " Henry James ; and " Many Waters, " Margaret Deland. But do not rely upon this quality so utterly as to ignore the present interest of the title, as was done in Edward Bellamy's " Lost "— a vague title indeed and unattractive. Remember that titles are intended primarily for those who have not read the story. Most young writers make themistake of selecting general instead of specific titles. Narrow down the title to something individual enough to grip the attention. A merely general idea no mind can hold. That a title should be fresh goes almost without saying, yet every magazine is flooded with stories baptized with titles unconsciously purloined, and such worn-out titles as " A Strange Experience, " " My Unusual Dream, " and " When We Were Young. " A sonorous title is one that sounds well — is " impressive in sound " ; whose words and syllables succeed each other effectively, as well as smoothly and pleasantly. Note the euphonious quality of Poe's " Ligeia, " as contrasted with " The Glenmutchkin Railway, " by Aytoun. Remember, however, that a title may be so smooth as to be incapable of gripping the attention. By a literary title I mean one whose words have been chosen with due regard for their shades and beauty of meaning, and arranged in effective rhetorical order. Compare the quality of " A Purple Rhododendron, " by John Fox, Jr. , with " A Ride with a Mad Horse in a Freight Car, " by W. H. H. Murray. It is most important that a title should be suggestive. " The Courting of Dinah Shadd, " by Kipling, suggests a story of love, humor and unique character, and the reader is not disappointed. A suggestion of love-interest is of no small value. One province of suggestion is to pique yet baffle curiosity by leading the imagination up to only a certain point, as in the following: " The Wedding Knell, " Hawthorne. " The Mummy's Foot, " Gautier. " The Severed Hand, " Hauff. " The Black Poodle, " Anstey. " The Hired Baby, " Corelli. " The Man Who Would Be King, " Kipling. " The Diamond Lens, " O'Brien. " The tipper Berth, " Crawford. Other suggestive titles more or less fully indicate the theme, as : " The Fall of the House of Usher, " Poe. " How Don Q. Dealt With a Thief. " Prichard. " Rosemary for Remembrance, " " Harland. " " The Night Run of the ' Overland, " Peake. " A Temperance Campaign, " Turner. " The Home-Coming of Colonel Hucks, " William Allen White. " The Trial For Murder, " Dickens. By naming or describing a character the title may, suggest a character study : " Marse Chan, " Page. " Thrawn Janet, " Stevenson. " Gallegher, " Davis. " Marjorie Daw, " Aldrich. " Bimi, " Kipling. " A New England Nun, " Mary Wilkins. Freeman. " Rappaccini's Daughter, " Hawthorne. " The Girl at Duke's, " Linn. Or the title may suggest a setting: " The Deserted House, " Hoffman. " The Attack on the Mill, " Zola. " Up the Coulee, " Garland. " Young Strong of ' The Clarion, " Shinn. " The Luck of Roaring Camp, " Harte. " The Philosopher in the Apple Orchard, " " Hope. " Again, the humorous note may be struck: " The Transferred Ghost, " Stockton. " Colonel Starbottle For the Plaintiff, " Harte. " The Jumping Frog, " " Twain. " " The Cannibals and Mr. Buffum, " Loomis. Again, the title may disclose the idea of contrast in the story : " Two Men and a Woman, " Deledda. "Railroad and Churchyard, " Bjornson. " The Doctor, His Wife, and the Clock, " Anna Katharine Green. " A Pompadour Angel, " Moss. " Pigs is Pigs, " Butler. " The Joneses' Telephone, " Frechette. " The Encyclopeedy, " Field. " The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney, " Kipling. Or the title may suggest the basic idea by naming the central object : " The Great Carbuncle, " Hawthorne. " The Gold Bug, " Poe. " The Pope's Mule, " Daudet. " The Damned Thing, " Bierce. " My Terminal Moraine, " Stockton. " A Piece of String, " Maupassant. " The Venus of Ille, " Merimee. 3. Titles to Aveid Don't choose a commonplace name for a title. Who would elect to read about " William Lee " when he might know " Pap Overholt "? 5 Don't choose such general titles as, " The Organist, " Becquer. " Two Friends, " Kipling. " Uncle and Nephew, " About. " The Father, " Bjornson. " A Love Story, " Webster. " College Friends, " Amicis. Don't handicap your story with such uninteresting titles as : " The Sempstress' Story, " Droz. " Father and Son, " Rod. " The Shot, " Poushkin. " Poor Ogla Moga, " Lloyd. " Kittie's Sister Josephine, " Elizabeth Jordan. " A Faithful Retainer, " Payn. " The Village Convict, " C. H. White. Many in the foregoing lists are good stories, but their titles are not encouraging. Good magazines generally reject such sensational titles as : " In Love With the Czarina, " Jokai. " Minions of the Moon, " F. W. Robinson. " The Brigand's Bride, " Laurence Oliphant. " A Perilous Amour, " Weyman. " The Revenge of Her Race, " Beaumont. " A Terribly Strange Bed, " Wilkie Collins. " My Wife's Tempter, " O'Brien. Avoid the use of hackneyed words in your titles, as: " ADaring Fiction, " Boyesen. " TheStory of Two Lives, " Schayer. " Mr. Bixby's Christmas Visitor, " Gage. " TheExtraordinaryAdventure ° of a Chief Mate, " Clark Russell. Titles beginning with " How " or " Why " are usually trite and clumsy. If you use a quotation or a motto for a title, be sure it is not overworked. Two good ones are, " Thou Art the Man, " by Poe, and " Such as Walk in Darkness, " by Samuel Hopkins Adams. George Ade cleverly modified a quotation in his " To Make a Hoosier Holiday. " Shun titles that " give away " your plot. Of course, there are instances in which the title intentionally discovers the whole plan of the story, as in Poe's " The Premature Burial. " In such cases the author either plans no surprise or depends for interest upon a unique handling of a situation, the essentials of which the reader may surmise from the title. In either case it is a bold plan. Even Poe did not carry it off with distinguished success. The saving device was in his beginning the story as though it were a human interest paper — a feature article— and ending by telling the story proper. Don't indulge freely in sub-titles. Avoid the or and and style of double title. Don't affect baldly alliterative titles. Poe's " The Pit and the Pendulum " is close to the edge, though opinions differ on this point, Eschew titles that are gloomy, " The Sorrow of an Old Convict, " Loti ; or old style, " Christian Gellert's Last Christmas, " Auerbach ; or trite, " The Convict's Return, " Harben ; or new spapery, " Rescued by a Child " ; or highly fantastic, " The Egyptian Fire Eater, " Baumbach ; or anecdotal, "A Fishing Trip " ; or sentimental, "Hope, " Bremer; or repellent, "A Memorable Murder, " Thaxter. It must be reiterated that almost all of the short-stories whose titles are here criticised are themselves passable, and a majority of them good, but there can be no doubt that their success would have been multiplied had their, authors endowed them with attractive, short, fitting, specific, fresh, sonorous, literary, and suggestive titles. OUTLINE SUMMARY x. Functions of the Title • Appeal to the Editor • • Appeal to the Public • • Good Titles • • Titles to Avoid • QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES FOR CLASS OR INDIVIDUAL STUDY r. Which title do you prefer in each of the following groups, and why? ? Changed by translator, from Baumbach's original title, Freund Lipp. "The Light-House Keeper of Aspinwall, " Sienkiewicz. "The Juggler of Notre Dame, " France. "A Ghetto Violet, " Kompert. "A Rose of the Ghetto, " Zangwill. "A Monk of the Ghetto, " Wolfenstein. "The Denver Express, " Hayes. "The Four-Fifteen Express, " Edwards. "The Courting of Dinah Shadd, " Kipling. "The Courting of T'Nowhead's Bell, " Barrie. Set down, in a sentence or two devoted to each, the impressions made upon you by five titles from the current magazines, as to what kind of stories they represent. What titles in Appendix B strike you as uninteresting? Why? 4. Criticize fully at least three titles in Appendix C, suggesting improvements of your own devising. 3. (a) Count how many titles in Appendix B begin with "The"; (b) how many with "A"; © how many contain the word "of "? Construct two titles of each of the following kinds: (a) sonorous, (b) suggestive, © hinting the theme, (d) naming the chief character, (e) suggesting a setting, (f) humorous. Suggest improvements on at least five titles on page 271. THE TITLE OF THE STORY THE TITLE OF THE STORY A title that piques curiosity or suggests excitement or emotion will draw a crowd of readers the moment it appears, while a book soberly named must force its merits on the public. The former has all the merits of a pretty girl over a plain one; it is given an instantaneous chance to prove itself worthwhile. -LITERARY CHAT, in Munsey's Magazine. "The title of the story, " says somebody, "is like the smear of honey on the outside of the jar, a foretaste of the good things withik" Since the title is the first thing we know aboit the story, it ought to be attractive enough to make us want to know more. For this reason it should not be too specific, as are many of the titles framed by beginners. "How Tom Won the Game, " "Jenny's Surprise Party, " or "An Unfortunate Choice, " fairly thrust information upon us, telling so much that we hardly care to know any more. Similarly, the titles of a past generation sometimes sated curiosity in advance. "The Fair Jilt, " "The Apparition of Mrs. Veal, " "The Taking of the Redoubt, " "Mrs. Perkins' Ball, " are titles which half tell the tale. On the other hand, the title should not be so vague and indeterminate as to give no hint of what is to come. Who could guess from the title "Up the Coulee" that the story is about two strongly contrasted characters; the whole interest of the title centers in what may be disclosed in that interesting locality. Nor should the title be too meager of information. Merely the name of the leading character is hardly enough to attract: "Editha, ". "Monica, " "Jim, " "Henry Dunba are insufficient in themselves to allure; but "Editha's Burglar, " " Molly Make-Believe, " "Monica's Chief Engineer, " and " Jim Lancey's Waterloo" may stimulate interest — though the last named is a rather old type. There is a kind of ostentatiously simple title, implying a frankness and honesty that disdains to represent things better than they are: "The Dull Miss Archinard, " "Just Folks, " "The Unsuccessful Alumnus, " "The Man Who Failed, " "The Homeliest Child" are titles which seem to reveal shortcomings and limitations with such candor that the reader scents a surprise — he knows these must be worth-while people, or their sponsors would not have dared to disparage them. A title which involves a piquant contradiction or incongruity, such as "Her Dearest Foe, " "The Madonna of the Tubs, " "Cabbages and Kings, " "The Blind Who See, " can be counted on to arrest attention. Well-known quotations, too, are often effectively used as titles: "All Sorts and Conditions of Men, " "The Fruit of the Tree, " "When Half-Gods Go" and many others like these somehow lead us to expect a touch of novelty in the story. The suggestive, symbolic title, that lures by a touch of mystery, that baffles yet attracts, will be to many readers irresistible. "The Opened Shutters, " "At the Foot of the Rainbow, " "Lavender and Old Lace, " "Come and Find Me, " "The Ship of Stars, " "The Tree of Heaven, " "The House of a Thousand Candles" — such titles as these will be nearly sure to pique a glance through the pages, to see what the story can possibly be about. A good criterion for a good title would be to ask yourself whether it is one that would make you choose that story to read first when you saw the name in the "Contents" page of a magazine. QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES Write appropriate titles, three of each kind, for detective stories, adventure stories, psychological problem stories, love stories, and stories about children. Choose any story from a current magazine, and write six new titles for it. Write titles for six stories, making them as attractive as possible, and state in each case why you believe the title to be one adapted to win attention. Criticize the titles of three stories from a single issue of a magazine, having in mind the assertion that a title should fit the story, pique curiosity or interest, be brief, and not be misleading. • Do you like sub-titles or alternate (" or ") titles? • Make a list of ten short-story titles which attracted you in books or magazines. THE TITLE THE TITLE Function of the title. Names story fitly. Attracts attention. Guiding principles in choice of title. Let it be brief and unique. Character names rarely effective. Let it be definite, honest, and pleasing. Also thought-arresting, thought-compelling 122 THE TITLE EVERY story has a name which differs from ordinary names in that it is in some way indicative of the story it represents. It may be derived from the theme, the subject, the characters, the setting, the dominant motive of the main character, or from any of the important structural expedients, as the fancy and the judgment of the writer dictate. In any case, a title should be significant and justified by the story. Although simply a heading, it may serve finally to bring home the power of a story. From the end, one turns back instinctively to the title for comparison. If possible, then, the title should seem the crowning expression of a story. Yet its first use is without doubt to point forward, since from the beginning the reader is on the watch for its explanation. It may excite curiosity and attract the reader, or it may repel him entirely. Because a title fails to claim attention or to make just the appeal which should be made, a good story is frequently passed over unread. At times the writer may chance upon an effective title, but probably more often chooses it carefully in accordance with the nature of the story. Whether it occurs to one of a sudden or whether it is deliberately sought out, a good title will rather generally be found in keeping with certain definite principles. First of all, the good title is brief. It is in no sense a resume, it is not the full story packed in a few words; it is a hint, a suggestion. It may be one word, and in that case the word must be exceedingly expressive. It may at times be a half-dozen words. A good title, however, needs only occasionally to go beyond this limit. The length of a name does not add dignity, and it may detract from suggestiveness. Names are ordinarily short, because there is no necessity of their being long. A long title suggests a long and rambling story. It inclines one to believe that the writer has had difficulty in cornering his ideas. A short title, however, does not necessarily represent a short story. A definite idea demands terse expression. It is as wrong to tell too much and quell curiosity at the start as it is to intimate too little and fail to excite interest. Here, as in most things, there is a happy mean. The good title, too, is found to be unique. It is so individual, so strikingly new and original, that one's attention is immediately fastened upon it. It is so distinctive that one cannot fail to notice it. The value put upon uniqueness is easily seen, when one considers the striving there is after something new in the way of advertising. When something surprisingly original appears among advertisements, it is greeted with general applause, and for the time its appearance is almost as popular as that of a new piece of ragtime or of slang. It is imitated in every conceivable way until it ceases to interest, and wears on the reader's patience. The case in literature is analogous. People are always searching for the unused. They have an eye always open for new expressions, new comparisons, new epithets. A fresh title is esteemed of great value. It is certain to be attractive, because it is unexpected and untried. It is just as certain to be imitated. The Man Who Would Be King andThe Man Who Was are good titles, unique and pleasing. If, however, one glances down a catalogue of present-day fiction, The Man Who did this or that, will appear two or three times a page. This title has become so common that it falls flat upon the imagination. One can scarcely over-emphasize the need for the unworked and the distinctive in titles. It is for this reason that names of characters often fail as story titles. A name must be unusual and of striking connotation to stand at the head of a story. Markheimis not distinctive. There is nothing in the name which indicates anything unusual in the character. One might easily pass the story by. Even Mrs. Knollgsfails to attract attention. Knollys is, to be sure, an uncommon name; yet there is nothing in its sound which makes a definite appeal. Unless a name seems indirectly to indicate something of a character, it would better be unused. Often, however, character stories seem most naturally named for their main characters, and at times it may be more important to have an appropriate than a unique title. The third requisite of an ingenious title is definiteness. One gains from the name some clear idea of what the story is about. The title is not vague nor capable of being interpreted finally in several different ways. It should not be a blanket term, which by the extent of its possible meaning fails to give any sharp impression. A general term may easily be applied to a story, but it has no individual flavor; hence it does not excite interest. Fruit does not mean plums; flowers do not make one think of violets. Balzac named one of his stories An Episode Under the Terror. The story deserves a much stronger name. Anything might be an episode, and anything might have happened during The Terror. One does not know what to expect. It is the business of a title to particularize, so that there will be something around which one's thoughts may gather. The Tragedy of a Comic Songseems also ineffective. Definiteness of association goes far toward making a title. In addition to being definite, a felicitous title is honest. It represents truly the story for which it stands. Relevant and appropriate, it gives not only a definite impression but a true impression. It refers not to something which is of little or no significance, but to some character, or action, or motive, or setting, which enters into the life of the story. Without being too exact, it may accord with the single impression and in some sense prepare the reader. The Cask of Amontillado isan honest title, for the cask is the decoy which Montresor uses in leading Fortunato into the damp vaults. When there is any mention of desisting, one always hears echoing the single exclamation, "The Amontillado. " Although honest, this title is perhaps less exact than that which Maupassant has chosen for his story of revenge, Une Vendetta. It is, however, decidedly more unique and attractive. The Outcasts of Poker Flat is an honest title; so is The Revolt of Mother; so, The Necklace; so are nearly all the titles of good stories. Absolute honesty is perhaps the first thing sought in selecting a title. Whatever the name may be, it should be able to stand the test of the reading of the story, and should not leave one wondering, when all is said, as to its application. Careful writers see to it that their titles are pleasing; that is to say, that they seem in good taste. In making stories there is always use for a sense of propriety. There are many titles which might startle one into attention, yet be essentially vulgar. A story of real artistic merit has a name msthetically fit, just as has a beautiful poem. Here The Brushwood Boy deserves mention. It suggests a free, unsophisticated naturalness, which arouses pleasing anticipations. There seems in it %joyous freedom unhampered by restraint. No less pleasing is The Merry Men. In addition to their suggestiveness, both of these titles are euphonious. So, truly, is Marjorie Daw, which in other respects fails to make any unusual impression. Euphony is valuable, of course, but alone it does not make a name effective. Even in the titles of his most sensational stories, Poe is careful not to offend simple good taste. He rarely uses an unpleasing title. The Fall of the House of Usher has a certain rhythm in its movement. Berenice is certainly restrained. A definitely pleasing title, however, is always an advantage. It is still more important that the title of a story should be thought-arresting and compelling. It is not enough that it catches one's attention; it must hold one by the force of its suggestion. It should be a spur to one's imagination and set one to thinking actively. The Madonna of the Future is such a title. It is modest and unassuming and might easily head a magazine article. Yet it is honest, unique, pleasing, and thought-compelling. The word "Madonna" is associated neither with the present nor with the future, but with the past. To paint the Madonna was to embody the ideal in art. "The Future" suggests the indefinite, the unattained and perhaps unattainable. Thus to link the two ideas in one title is at once to suggest the whole range of thoughts which may cluster around the striving after an ideal always just beyond. The title seems almost an expression of yearning which cannot fail to arrest and compel one's attention, and remain as a haunting memory in one's mind, long after the story is read. The really powerful title is always thought-compelling. Yet in making a title thought-compelling, all the qualities previously mentioned have a share. Notice They. It is short, consisting not of four words, but of four letters, which when united form only a pro noun. It might refer to things or to persons, — though one naturally eves the preference to persons. Whether they are men, women, or children; whether they are in the flesh or in the spirit, one does not yet know. It is obviously unique. In some sense, too, it is definite, for it points to several persons who are already known so familiarly that one can refer to them thus in perfect understanding. Its indefiniteness is its fitness, its honesty. Theyare the center about which. the story is built. They, as a title, is pleasing because it seems half-veiled in mystery; and it is thought-arresting and compelling because it is crowded full of unrealized possibility. It could not have been so thought-full, however, if it had not been first brief, unique, definite, honest, and pleasing. THE TITLE THE TITLE 2. General Functions of the Title "The title has for its main function the advertising of the story to the public. " 1Is not this, even if there were no other, a sufficient reason for making your title as attractive, interesting and appropriate as you possibly can? True, there are thousands of picture-play patrons who go to their favorite theatre night after night, prepared to see anything that may be shown for their entertainment. But there are also thousands who are not regular attendants. Many go only when attracted by the title of a picture based on some well-known book, poem, or play. A great many more are guided in their selection of moving-picture entertainment by the attractiveness of the titles displayed on the posters and banners announcing the regular daily programs. As a means of attracting all such, the advertising value of the title is important. "A good title, " Barrett has said2"is apt fitting, specific itself with, and narrowed down to, something individual enough to grip the attention, attractive and calculated to inspire attention, new and unhackneyed, and short. " The bracketed comments, of course, are ours. 3. Titles to Avoid Judging from the titles of many dozens of scripts that the writers have seen slipped into the "stamped addressed envelope enclosed" and sent back to amateur photoplaywrights, one of the greatest mistakes Evelyn May Albright, The Short Story. 'Charles Raymond Barrett, Short Story Writing. that the young writer makes in his choice of titles is in making them commonplace and uninteresting. When an editor takes out a script and reads the title, "The Sad Story of Ethel Hardy, " would he be altogther to blame if he did put the script back into the return envelope utterly unread, as so many editors are accused of doing yet really do not do? To anyone with a sense of humor, there is more cause for merriment in the titles that adorn the different stories that a photoplay editor reads in the course of a day than is to be found in a humorous magazine. Yet it is as easy for some writers to select a good, attractive title for their stories as it is difficult for others. Do not choose a title that will "give away" your plot. The title should aid in sustaining interest, not dull the spectator's attention by telling "how it all ends. " To quote Mr. Harry Cowell, writing inThe Magazine Maker: "A title is a means to an end. The end of a story should justify the title. If the title gives the story away, the writer may have to give it away, too, or sell it for a song, which is bad business. " Let the title suggest the theme of the story, by all means ; but keep your climax, your "big" scene, safely under cover until the moment comes to "spring it" upon the spectators and leave them gasping, as it were, at the very unexpectedness of it. Avoid titles beginning with "How" or "Why, " for they are prone to lead in this direction. A good exception is the well-known play, "Why Smith Left Home. " If you use a quotation or a motto for a title, be sure it isnot overworked. Variations of "The Way of the Transgressor, " "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them, " "Thou Shalt Not Kill, " and "Honesty Is the Best Policy" are moss-covered. Avoid baldly alliterative titles, such as "The Deepening of Desolation, " "Elizabeth's Elopement, " and "Tom Truxton's Trust. " Had not the three elements mentioned in the title, "Sun, Sand and Solitude, " practically made the story possible, it would never have been used ; even so, it is really too alliterative. Usually, the over-use of alliteration is artificial and suggests a strained effort to be original. For more than one reason, names, as titles for photoplays, are not very desirable, especially for original stories. To entitle a photoplay "Andrew. Jackson, " or "Jane Shore, " if the plot is chiefly concerned with either of those two personages, is, of course, the proper thing; but the class of historical stories indicated by these or similar titles is usually turned out by the film company's own staff of writers. Once in a while, however, it happens that an original story of modern life is written around one character who so completely dominates the action that the name constitutes the very best title that could be given to it. Two good examples of stories having names as titles are "Mickey, " in which Mabel Normand played the title role, and "Innocent" (the name of the heroine), produced by Pathe and featuring Fannie Ward. One-word titles are good only when they are especially apt. Such titles as "Jealousy, " "Retribution, " "Chains, " "Rivals" and "Memories" have been worn threadbare. "Eschew titles that are gloomy, as 'The Sorrow of an Old Convict, ' Loti ; or old style, 'Christian Gellert's Last Christmas, ' Auerbach ; or trite, 'The Convict's Return, ' Harben; or newspapery, 'Rescued by a Child ;' or highly fantastic, 'The Egyptian Fire Eater, ' Baumbach ; or anecedotal, 'A Fishing Trip ;' or sentimental, 'Hope, ' Bremer ; or repellent, 'A Memorable Murder, ' Thaxter. " "The American editor, like the heiress, is willing, anxious, to pay big money for a genuine title ; only she is on the lookout for an old one, he for a new, " says Mr. Harry Cowell, in The Magazine M aker. And though he speaks of titles for fiction stories, what he says exactly fits when applied to photoplay writing. Again, Mr. Cowell says that "the best of titles, once used, is bad"—for re-use, of course. Mr. Epes Winthrop Sargent remarks: "There are dozens of instances of titleduplication to be noted in the past year, some of the titles being used more than twice. A matter of greater moment is to avoid duplication of plot. " It is of still greater moment to avoid both. Because he discovered that the Essanay Company was about to release a picture called "Her Adopted Father, " a certain writer changed the title of one of his stories from "His Adopted Mother" to "The Bliss of Ignorance. " This avoided, not a duplication, but a too great similarity in titles ; at the same time the change was an improvement, when one considers the theme of the story. As a photoplay author, you should subscribe for one of the trade-papers, if for no other reason than to keep posted on the titles of the various subjects released by the different manufacturers. In this way you will have a much better chance of avoiding the repetition of titles. It goes without saying that originality in a title is only less desirable than originality in a plot ; yet every now and then some manufacturer will release a picture with a title similar to, or even quite the same as, one already produced by some other company. For example, on July 15th, some years ago, Lubin released a picture called "Honor Thy Father. " Four days later, on the 19th, Vitagraph put out a picture with the same title. Yet this was the merest coincidence. On August 17th of the same year Reliance released "A Man Among Men, " while Selig's "A Man Among Men" was released November 18th. The plots were totally different, and the Selig story was written and produced in the plant before any announcement of the Reliance picture was made. Again, on January 8, of the next year, Selig released "The Man Who Might Have Been. " Twelve days later, Edison put on the market "The ManHe Might Have Been, " by James Oppenheim. The exhibitor is the one who suffers as a result of these similarities in titles; many people see the poster and imagine they have seen the picture before, not noticing the difference in the make of film, and so go elsewhere to see some show that is entirely fresh to them. Therefore keep posted, as fully as possible, as to what the manufacturers are putting out. Of course this matter of title-duplication has a bearing, though a remote one, on titles that are similar yet not identical, as when Artcraft releases "Wolves of the Rail" (with William S. Hart) and Triangle puts out "Wolves of the Border" (with Roy Stewart). Perhaps there is no valid objection to such similarity, which can be called imitation only when the themes are more or less alike, but it actually seems to have been the policy of many companies to follow the line of least resistance when selecting titles for their pictures, using a title, provided it is good in itself, and appropriate to the picture under consideration, regardless of whether or not it is already familiar to the public as the title of another photoplay, fiction story, or legitimate drama. Needless to say, this has led to a great deal of confusion—and, in one or two cases, to law suits. Bear in mind that the titles of already published fiction and already produced stage plays are not the lawful prey of the photoplaywright merely because he is working in a different literary field. More than one librarian has told us of the confusion caused by reason of Anna Katharine Green's title, "The Woman in the Alcove, " having been used later by another popular woman novelist. Again, such a unique and thoroughly distinctive title as Gouverneur Morris's "It" has been used for a very different type of short-story by another writer. Occasionally, we will admit, this happens by the merest chance—although not when a certain motion picture concern puts out a picture showing life in an American factory town and bearing Kipling's well-known title "The Light That Failed. " Your literary conscience must dictate what you should do—willing as we are to admit that there is, very frequently, a great temptation to use the title already employed by another writer because of . its extreme appropriateness to your own story. It may be said that most photoplay producing companies are led to use unoriginal titles because of the poor and inappropriate titles given the stories sent in to them by the authors themselves. Your duty, then, is to help to keep the producing company from "going wrong" in this respect by supplying them with the very best and most original title you can devise for every story of yours which you are fortunate enough to sell. 4. Where to Look for Titles Good titles are everywhere—if you know how to find them. The Bible, Shakespeare, all the poets, books and plays that you read, newspapers, even advertisements on billboards and in street cars, all contain either suggestions for titles or complete titles, waiting only to be picked out and used. But be sure that someone else has not forestalled you! Sayings, proverbs. and well-known quotations are a fruitful source of titles, as we have already intimated. But sometimes the real significance and value of such a title are not apparent to a great many of the spec tators until they have witnessed the climax of the picture. This arises from their ignorance of literature and is, of course, their loss. Many good and extremely appropriate titles of this character are taken from the Psalms, from Shakespeare, and other poets. Frequently these quotations, used as titles, are so well known, and their meanings so apparent, that almost Everyone of the spectators will at once understand them, and catch at least the theme or general drift of the story from the title. Sometimes, again, the real significance of a title is best brought out by repeating it, or even the complete quotation from which it is taken, in the form of a leader at the point in the action where its significance cannot fail to be impressed upon the spectators. For example, a certain Selig release was entitled "Through Another Man's Eyes. " Before the next to the last scene, which showed the ne'er-do-well lover peering in at the window, while his former friend bends over to kiss his wife—who might have been the wife of the wayward young man, had be been made of different stuff—the leader was introduced : "How bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man's eyes!" -SHAKESPEARE, As You Like It. 5. The Time to Choose a Title Notwithstanding that the title is the first in position on the writer's script, as well as on the film as exhibited, it is frequently the last thing decided upon. A writer may have his theme well in hand, know every motive of every character, have settled to almost the minutest detail just how his scenes are going to work out as they unfold his story, yet, when he begins his first draft of the script, he may not have the slightest idea of what title he will eventually give it. On the other hand, he may create a story from the title. Having hit upon an expression that suggests a story by starting a train of thought, he may find that it is directly responsible for the wayin which he builds his plot ; its very words suggest the nature of the story, and supply at least a suggestion of how it can be developed—they hint at a possible plot, suggest the setting, and show, almost as one might guess the theme of a novel by glancing for a moment at one of the illustrations, what the probable outcome of the story will be. Hence the expression becomes a natural title for the photoplay. As an example of the foregoing, in "The Fiction Factory, " by "John Milton Edwards, " the author says that "the sun, sand and solitude of the country God forgot" did, or caused, or made something—just what does not now matter. The point is that those ten words supplied one of the present authors with not only titles for two of his photoplays, but with the plotgerm for the plays themselves. Both are stories of Arizona: "Sun, Sand and Solitude, " and "In the Country God Forgot. " 6. Choosing the Title Last But you may decide to leave the naming of the story until after you have made the rough draft of both synopsis and scenario. Your story is told ; you know the motives that have prompted your different characters to do what they have done; you know the scene; and you understand the theme, or motif—as the word would be used in music—which underlies the whole action. The question arises: To what do you wish to have your title callparticular attention? Ifa woman, or a girl, has the leading part, and it is what she does in your play that really makes the story, it would be best to feature the girl and her deed of cleverness or daring in your title, as in "The Ranch Girl's Heroism, " "A Daughter's Diplomacy, " or "A Wife of the Hills. " Or you may attach most importance to the locale of your story, the background against which the rest of your picture is painted, and call it, for instance, "A Tragedy of the Desert, " "In the North Woods, " "A Tale of Old Tahiti, " or one of the titles of Arizona stories, just cited. Again, the interest in your story may be equally divided between two, or among three, people, as in "The Triangle, " "The Girl and the Inventor, " and "The Cobbler and the Financier. " Note that every title here given is the actual title of a picture play which has already been released. Bear in mind, too, that many photoplays are released bearing poor, commonplace, and inappropriate titles, and the foregoing are not so much named as models as for the purpose of illustrating the specific point now being discussed—that the feature ideamay often direct your choice after the story is worked out. A great many comedies have titles which state a fact, or specifically make an announcement concerning what happens in the photoplay, as "Arabella Loves Her Master, " or "Billy Becomes Mentally Deranged. " Photoplays with such titles are, as a rule, the product of the European makers. Once in a while a dramatic picture will be given such a title, as "Tommy Saves His Little Sister"—a picture made in France—and "Annie Crawls Upstairs, " the last a beautiful and touching picture by the well-known writer of magazine stories and photoplays, James Oppenheim, produced by the Edison Company. Again, there are more general titles exploiting the theme of the story, as "The Ways of Destiny, " "The God Within, " and "Intolerance. " There are also symbolical titles, which have, naturally, a double meaning, playing upon an incident in the plot, as "A Pearl of Greater Price, " and "Written in the Sand. " 7. The Editor and theTitle Some successful writers have expressed dissatisfaction when editors have ventured to change the titles of their scripts after having accepted and paid for them. Doubtless some of these objections have been not without reason. Many editors and directors have, in the past, taken entirely too much upon themselves, in this and other respects taking liberties with the scripts received which, if known to the head of the firm, would have led to their being at least reprimanded. But in such studios, the editors, and especially the directors, worked for days at a time without having once come in contact with the head of the firm; as a result, they all did pretty much as they liked. During the last few months, however, changes have been made in every studio in the country, and at the present time the scripts that writers send in are not only handled much more carefully, but. if the title of a story is changed in the studio, there is usually a very good reason for so doing. Let us suppose, for example, that a certain company (such as, at this writing, Goldwyn) is featuring women stars only. A writer sends in an unusually good script entitled "Not Like Other Girls"—which, by the way, is a well-known book-title. At about the time that his script is received at the Goldwyn scenario department, the company decides to feature, in addition to its women, a certain male star. This writer's story, while one with a "woman lead, " is also one whose plot is capable of being worked over and slightly altered so as to provide a good vehicle for the leading man who has just been engaged. On the strength of this fact, the company buys the author's story without even informing him of their intention to make alterations in it—or they may, of course, tell him of the contemplated alterations and request his help in recasting the story. Not only is the action changed in different ways, but the title is sure to be altered to make it appropriate for a male leading character—and all quite justifiably. In this condition of affairs, by no means infrequent, the photoplaywright may find a strong reason for being familiar with the people composing a certain company, for the actual structure of the play as well as the title will influence its acceptance in some instances. It is well to ask : Are men or women featured _ in their pictures ; or do they put out stories with a male and a female "lead" of equal strength? Your story should be good enough to make it acceptable to any editor ; yet, if you plan to send it first to a firm that features a woman in most of its pictures, as you have the opportunity of knowing if you study the pictures you see on the screen and read the trade-papers, do not write a story with a strong male "lead, " and do not give it a title that draws attention to the fact that the principal character is a man. Remember, once again, that your title is the advertisement that draws the public into the theater. The title is to the public what the title combined with the synopsis is to the editor—the all-important introduction to what is to follow. Category:Titles